Pro Football Hall of Famer and ESPN personality Shannon Sharpe recently found himself at the center of an unexpected scandal after accidentally broadcasting a private moment to his 3.2 million Instagram followers. On Wednesday, Sharpe unknowingly went live on Instagram, sharing audio of an intimate encounter between himself and an unidentified woman.
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During an emergency episode of his show, “Nightcap,” Sharpe addressed the incident, confirming that it wasn’t the result of a hack but rather a mistake on his part. “Obviously, I am embarrassed,” Sharpe admitted. “Someone that is extremely, extremely private and to have one of your most intimate details—the audio—heard by the entire world, I’m embarrassed for a number of reasons.”
Sharpe explained how the mishap occurred: “I threw my phone on the bed, engaged in an activity. I did not know IG live. I’ve never turned IG live on, so I don’t know how it works, and all of a sudden, my other phone started going off.” It was his marketing partner, Jamie Fritz, who finally alerted him to the live stream.
Initially, Sharpe claimed his Instagram account had been hacked, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “Beware my @shannonsharpe84 Instagram was hacked this morning, my team and I are working vigorously to figure this out,” before later deleting the post.
At 56, Sharpe is known to be private about his dating life and has never been married. This incident has only added to the intrigue surrounding his personal life, which he has kept largely out of the public eye until now.
